A suspected Islamic extremist has attempted to attack a restaurant in a
shopping centre in the middle of Exeter.

Nobody in the restaurant was injured in the explosion apart from the bomber

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent and Richard Savill

3:31PM BST 22 May 2008

The man suffered cuts to his eye and facial burns in the attack when his device went off in the toilets of the restaurant in the brand new, £230m Princesshay centre.

Police sources believe the man was arming a bomb when it partially exploded in his face. He then tried to detonate a second device in the crowded street outside the restaurant.

Bomb disposal teams have recovered canisters of a sodium-based homemade explosive, it is understood, and there were reports that nails may have been part of the devices.

Police sources told The Daily Telegraph the man is a white male, aged 22, from the South West and is thought to be a convert to Islam.

A team from the Counter-terrorism Command at Scotland Yard was travelling to the scene last night as investigations continued.

Devon and Cornwall chief constable Stephen Otter said that a second device was found near the restaurant but refused to comment on a possible motive.

He said: “There were two devices, one on the café and one nearby. We do not know precisely how bad it could have been if they had gone off but it would have been quite serious.

“That is why we are treating this as a serious incident and investigating it quite thoroughly. In terms of motive we will look at all possibilities.”

Eyewitnesses described three explosions going off in the toilets of the Giraffe restaurant, a chain of “global food” outlets.

The explosions happened around 12.50pm as the restaurant was getting ready for lunchtime service.

Architect Peter Lacey, aged 63, and his wife Celia, aged 60, from Exeter had just arrived to have lunch.

He said: “I heard a noise which sounded like a gunshot and at first I thought it was a kitchen accident of some sort.

“About a second afterwards there was another identical sound and maybe a second later a third.

“Afterwards I saw a little piece of orange material which looked as if could have come from a cartridge and which may have been blown under the door.

“The staff tried to get into the toilet but it was locked and they must have called the police.

“They evacuated us very calmly and there were people still eating while the explosions took place but who left their meals and went out.

“I saw a man who I assumed to be him by an ambulance shortly afterwards with police around him and he had blood on his face and upper clothing.

Another diner, who would only be identified as Trudy, said: “It was definitely an explosion, it sounded like the lights were exploding.

“There was a lot of glass. I think it came from the toilet.

“There was concern, I wouldn’t say there was panic, everyone got up and the staff were very good getting everyone out.”

Juliette Joffe, a director of Giraffe which has 21 restaurants across the country, described an explosion inside the restaurant.

Around 15 people would have been working in the restaurant at the time, she said.

“All we know at present is there was an explosion in the Giraffe in Princesshay and the Princesshay has been evacuated.

“Nobody in the restaurant has been injured apart from the person who set it off,” she said.

Deputy Chief Constable Tony Melville said police were called in by the ambulance service who told them there had been a small explosion in a restaurant and someone was injured.

He said one man was in custody with slight injuries which were non-life-threatening. The man was taken to hospital with lacerations to an eye and facial burning.

A Royal Navy bomb disposal unit arrived at the scene and sniffer dogs were brought in as police evacuated large parts of the city centre including Exeter bus station.

The Princesshay development opened last September. The scheme has been heralded as the biggest single investment in regeneration in the city’s history and contains a mix of shops, restaurants and apartments.